TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure described herein, in general, relates to a vehicle passive safety structure. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a safety structure to prevent trim tearing during a side impact.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] In passenger vehicles, side body consists of a front pillar, a center pillar, and a rear pillar. In the lower part of the center pillar, a seat belt retractor for retracting a seat belt is incorporated. The seat belt retractor is mounted in an opening formed in an inner panel of the center pillar and is arranged with a predefined gap from an outer panel of the center pillar so that the seat belt retractor can be prevented from getting damaged or produce undesirable noise during the normal working condition of the vehicle.
[0004] However, in case of the side collision, the outer panel of center pillar hits the seat belt retractor and pushes the seat belt retractor against a center pillar trim. This, in turn, will result in tearing of the center pillar trim. The tearing of the center pillar trim creates sharp edges inside the passenger cabin of the vehicle. Such sharp edges of the torn center pillar trim result in injury to passengers inside the vehicle.
[0005] Hence, there is a need in the state of the art to provide a reinforcement structure which prevents the tearing or even damage of the center pillar trim in case of side collision of the vehicle.

OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0006] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfy, are listed hereinbelow.
[0007] It is a general object of the present disclosure to provide a safety structure for preventing tearing of a center pillar trim of a vehicle.
[0008] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a safety structure to avoid direct contact of a seat belt retractor with a center pillar trim of a vehicle.
[0009] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a safety structure that absorbs the impact energy during a side collision of a vehicle.
[0010] It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide a safety structure that deforms and restricts the movement of a seat belt retractor during a side collision of a vehicle.
[0011] These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent when reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY
[0012] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to a safety structure provided at the center pillar region of a vehicle. The concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0013] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a safety structure for preventing tearing of a center pillar trim of a vehicle. The safety structure is formed as a unitary component comprising a middle surface, an upper mounting region seamlessly formed above the middle surface, and a lower mounting region seamlessly formed below the middle surface. The middle surface is having a main

face protruding towards a seat belt retractor so as to absorb the impact energy generated during a side collision of a vehicle. The upper mounting region provides an upper connection of the safety structure with an upper inner panel of a center pillar, while the lower mounting region provides a lower connection of the safety structure with a lower inner panel of the center pillar. In an aspect, the lower mounting region is being connected to the inner panel using a lower mounting connection of the seat belt retractor.
[0014] In an aspect, the safety structure includes a first side flange extending towards the right side of the middle surface, and a second side flange extending towards left side of the middle surface.
[0015] In an aspect, each of the first side flange and the second side flange includes a plurality of horizontal beads.
[0016] In an aspect, the first side flange and the second side flange are curved towards the sides of the seat belt retractor.
[0017] In an aspect, the safety structure includes a curved region between the middle surface and the upper mounting region.
[0018] In an aspect, the curved region protrudes toward a head region of the seat belt retractor.
[0019] In an aspect, each of the upper mounting region and the lower mounting region is provided with a hole for connecting the safety structure to the inner panel of the center pillar using fastening means.
[0020] In an aspect, the safety structure is formed from sheet metal.
[0021] In an aspect, the safety structure is a unitary component.
[0022] It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other.

Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.
[0023] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0025] FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of a center pillar as viewed from inside of a vehicle according to the prior art;
[0026] FIG. IB illustrates a cross-sectional view of the center pillar shown in FIG. 1A before a vehicle side collision;
[0027] FIG. 1C illustrates a cross-sectional view of the center pillar shown in FIG. 1A after the vehicle side collision;
[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates a safety structure for preventing tearing of a center pillar trim during the vehicle side collision, in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates the safety structure mounted with a seat belt retractor on the lower inner panel of the center pillar of the vehicle, in accordance with the present disclosure;
[0030] FIG. 4A illustrates a safety structure mounted on an inner panel of the center pillar of the vehicle;
[0031] FIG. 4B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the center pillar shown in FIG. 4A at before the vehicle side collision; and
[0032] FIG. 4C illustrates a cross-sectional view of the center pillar shown in FIG. 4B after the vehicle side collision.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0034] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0035] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the forms

disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure.
[0036] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes" and/or "including," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
[0037] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0038] Embodiments described herein relate to a reinforcement structure or a safety structure in a center pillar 100 (FIG. 1 A) to prevent tearing of a center pillar trim (not shown in FIG. 1A due to clarity purpose) due to its interaction with a seat belt retractor 102 in the event of a vehicle side collision. As mentioned above, the seat belt retractor 102 is incorporated in an opening formed between an upper inner panel 104-U and a lower inner panel 104-L (collectively referred to as inner panel 104) of the center pillar 100. Also, as can be seen from FIG. 1A, the seat belt retractor 102 is mounted with the lower inner panel 104-L by its lower mounting connection 106 in such a way that a predefined gap is maintained from an outer panel of center pillar 100 so that the seat belt retractor 102 can be

prevented from getting damaged or produce undesirable noise during the normal working condition of the vehicle.
[0039] However, as shown in FIGS. IB and 1C, in case of a side collision, the center pillar outer panel 108 hits the seat belt retractor 102 and pushes the seat belt retractor 102 against a center pillar trim 110. For instance, before the vehicle side collision as shown in FIG. IB, there is no contact between the seat belt retractor 102 and the center pillar trim 110, while after the collision as shown in FIG. 1C, the seat belt retractor 102 is pushed against the center pillar trim 102, thereby resulting in tearing of the center pillar trim 110. The tearing of the center pillar trim 110 may create sharp edges in a passenger cabin of the vehicle. Such sharp edges of the torn center pillar trim 110 may result in injury to passengers traveling in the vehicle affected by the side collision.
[0040] To prevent such injury to the passengers of the vehicle, the present disclosure proposes a safety structure or a reinforcement structure 200 (FIG. 2) to prevent the tearing of the center pillar trim 110 during a side collision of the vehicle. FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the safety structure 200 as seen from a passenger cabin, while FIG. 3 illustrates the safety structure 200 mounted with the seat belt retractor 102 on the inner panel 104 of the center pillar of the vehicle. The safety structure 200 is made from sheet metal; however, without deviating from the scope of the present subject matter, the safety structure 200 can be formed from any other suitable material.
[0041] As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the safety structure 200 is formed as a unitary component including a middle surface 202, an upper mounting region 204, a lower mounting region 206, a first side flange 208, and a second side flange 210.
[0042] The safety structure 200 is adapted to be placed near the seat belt retractor 102 in such a way that the safety structure 200 is positioned in between the inner panel 104 and the center pillar trim 110 (not shown in FIG. 3 due to clarity purpose). The upper mounting region 204 of the safety structure 200

provides an upper connection 302 (FIG. 3) of the safety structure 200 with the inner panel 104 of the vehicle, while the lower mounting region 206 of the safety structure 200 provides a lower connection 304 of the safety structure 200 with inner panel 104 of the vehicle.
[0043] In an aspect, the lower mounting region 206 is being connected to the inner panel 104 using a lower mounting connection 106 of the seat belt retractor 102. That is, the safety structure 200 and the seat belt retractor 102 share the lower mounting connection point 106. Such sharing of the lower mounting connection point facilitates the movement of the safety structure 200 along with the movement of the seat belt retractor 102 during the side collision of the vehicle. Further, the sharing of the lower mounting connection point by the safety structure 200 and the seat belt retractor 102 also ensures the interaction of seat belt retractor 102 with the safety structure 200 in all directions during side collision and thus avoid direct contact between the seat belt retractor 102 and the center pillar trim 110.
[0044] In an aspect, the connection of the safety structure 200 and/or the seat belt retractor 102 can be established with the inner panel 104 using any fastening mechanisms including but not limited to, riveting, bolting, welding, stamping, clamping, press-fitting, and the like.
[0045] In an aspect, the upper mounting region 204 and the lower mounting region 206 are seamlessly formed above and below the middle surface 202 of the safety structure 200, respectively. In an aspect, the middle surface 202 is having a main face 202-MF protruding towards the seat belt retractor 102 so as to absorb the impact energy during the side collision of a vehicle. In said aspect, the main face 202-MF of the middle surface 202 is the face that is facing towards the seat belt retractor 102. The main face 202-MF is protruded in such a way that it comes first in contact with the seat belt retractor 102 during the vehicle side collision and absorbs the impact energy through deformation towards the center pillar trim 110.

[0046] Further, the first side flange 208 is seamlessly formed, bent at a predetermined angle and extends from the right side of the middle surface 202. Similarly, the second side flange 210 is seamlessly formed, bent at a predetermined angle, and extends from the left side of the middle surface 202 and the upper mounting region 204. In an aspect, the upper mounting region 204 and the lower mounting region 206 are provided with a hole 212, 214 respectively for fastening of the safety structure 200 with the inner panel 104 of the center pillar 100 of the vehicle.
[0047] In an aspect, the first side flange 208 and the second side flange 210 are curved or bent towards the sides of the seat belt retractor 102 to avoid direct interaction of the seat belt retractor 102 with the center pillar trim 110 in all directions during a side collision. In order to enhance the level of reinforcement of the side flanges, the first side flange 208 and the second side flange 210 are provided with a plurality of horizontal beads to enhance stiffness at curved/bent portions. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the horizontal beads are shown with a hexagonal shape, the horizontal beads can be of any suitable shape without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0048] In another aspect, the safety structure 200 may include a curved region 216 between the middle surface 202 and the upper mounting region 204. In an alternative aspect, the upper mounting region 204 may include a curved region 216. The curved region 216 is formed only when the seat belt retractor 102 is formed with a cylinder or head region 402 (FIGS. 4B and 4C). The curved region 216 protrudes towards the cylinder or head region 402 of the seat belt retractor 102 so as to provide early contact with the seat belt retractor 102 for the absorption of impact energy through deformation.
[0049] An exemplary side crash test for a vehicle side collision is depicted in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As can be seen, the upper mounting region 204 is fastened to the inner panel 104 to facilitate an obstruction-free working of the seat belt

retractor 102 and, at the same time, to provide sufficient restriction to the movement of the head region/cylinder 402 of the seat belt retractor 102 towards the center pillar trim 110 (not shown in FIG. 4A due to clarity purpose).
[0050] Further, as can be seen from FIG. 4B, the curved region 216 of the safety structure 200, protruding towards the head region/cylinder 402 of the seat belt retractor 102, is provided between the middle surface 202 and the upper mounting region 204. Before side collision of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 4B, there is no contact between the seat belt retractor 102, the safety structure 200 and the center pillar trim 110. While after the side collision condition as shown in FIG. 4C, the seat belt retractor 102 is pushed against the safety structure 200, wherein the head region/cylinder 402 of the seat belt retractor 102 comes in early contact with the curved region 216 which absorbs the impact energy through its deformation and ultimately restricts the direct contact between seat belt retractor 102 and the center pillar trim 110. Thereby, the safety structure 200 ensures that the center pillar trim 110 is not torn during a side collision of vehicle.
TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES
[0051] The present disclosure provides a safety structure to prevent the tearing of a trim of a vehicle.
[0052] The present disclosure provides a safety structure between the seat belt retractor and the trim.
[0053] The present disclosure provides a safety structure that comes into early contact with the seat belt retractor during side collision and absorbs the impact energy during the side collision of a vehicle.
[0054] The present disclosure provides a safety structure having high structural stiffness.
[0055] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be

devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present disclosure when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

We claim

1.A safety structure (200) for preventing tearing of a center pillar trim (110)
of a vehicle, the safety structure (200) comprising:
a middle surface (202) having a main face (202-MF) protruding towards a seat belt retractor (102);
an upper mounting region (204) seamlessly formed above the middle surface (202) for establishing an upper connection (302) with an inner panel (104) of the vehicle; and
a lower mounting region (206) seamlessly formed below the middle surface (202) for establishing a lower connection (304) with the inner panel (104) of the vehicle, said lower connection (304) being established using a lower mounting connection (106) of the seat belt retractor (102).
2. The safety structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
a first side flange (208) extending from right side of the middle surface (202); and
a second side flange (210) extending from left side of the middle surface (202).
3. The safety structure (200) as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the first side flange (208) and the second side flange (210) includes a plurality of horizontal beads.
4. The safety structure (200) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first side flange (208) and the second side flange (210) are curved towards the sides of the seat belt retractor (102).

5. The safety structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a curved region (216) between the middle surface (202) and the upper mounting region (204).
6. The safety structure (200) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the curved region (216) protrudes towards a head region/cylinder (402) of the seat belt retractor (102).
7. The safety structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the upper mounting region (204) and the lower mounting region (206) is provided with a hole (212; 214) for connecting the safety structure (200) using fastening means.
8. The safety structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the safety structure (200) is formed from sheet metal.
9. The safety structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the safety structure (200) is a unitary component.